Behold, the real reason why McDonald’s ice cream machines are never “working” when you’re craving a McFlurry.
Okay, not really. However, a former employee at the fast food chain decided to inform consumers about the troubling health dangers at a Louisiana McDonald’s, which included unkept kitchen spaces and mold-filled trays from the ice cream machine. The 18-year-old, who has decided to go by his first name Nick, shared with BuzzFeed the story behind his now-viral photos.
This came out of McDonald's ice cream machine in case y'all were wondering… pic.twitter.com/DTXXpzE7Ce
— nick (@phuckyounick) July 14, 2017
Nick tells the outlet he discovered the tray full of mold a month ago, when he was instructed to clean the machine after making a mess. “I tried to clean the machine after I spilled it, so I pulled [the trays] out from the side,” he said. He then found more mold than ice cream in a tray that resides inside the machine. “I thought [the machine] would be cleaned regularly,” he added while mentioning managers are instructed to clean the machines, not crew members.
Nick found support by other fast food workers after he was blamed for the mold.
https://twitter.com/wydpennie/status/887507185592393728
Nick decided to take the risk to post the photos online, knowing that he would be fired for violating the company’s policies. After posting them to Twitter earlier this month, he was fired.
Lmao I just got fired
— nick (@phuckyounick) July 19, 2017
Before he got the pink slip, Nick decided to share more cringeworthy photos of the resturant’s conditions.
This is the grease trap for all the people that think I'm lying… pic.twitter.com/fKQjxvKzM5
— nick (@phuckyounick) July 16, 2017
Since I'm exposing McDonald's I might as well show y'all what y'all really eating… fresh out the freezer. pic.twitter.com/KZ7Ao1kWsR
— nick (@phuckyounick) July 18, 2017
Nice and dirty… pic.twitter.com/vjxuVLJpgF
— nick (@phuckyounick) July 18, 2017
John Valluzzo, the owner of the McDonald’s, released a statement to BuzzFeed explaining that the resturant “regularly conduct[s] in-person and online employee training sessions as well as internal inspections to ensure crew members are following safe food practices.” Nick says that wasn’t the case. “The working conditions were ridiculous — everyone was inappropriate and nothing was clean,” he said.
After gaining momentum on Twitter, more fast-food workers from rivals like Wendy’s and Chick-fil-A shared photos and stories of their clean and not-so-clean work environments.
https://twitter.com/_esstco/status/886733935006371840
this is behind the grill. had to be lowkey w my pic even so my manger saw me & told me not to post it. lol yeet. pic.twitter.com/ENGaCGFjMC
— christine (@tiddybresss) July 16, 2017
Nick said after he was fired he came into contact with representatives from the brand that allegedly pleaded with him to delete his tweets. “They were very disrespectful,” he said.”They were begging me to delete my tweet. They said I was slandering [the] McDonald’s brand. I don’t tweet lies. I took the tray out and took a picture.”
Since the resturant is a locally owned franchise, McDonald’s reps were unable to speak on the matter.